WSU coach Mike Leach finds himself in the middle of another mess involving his treatment of playersAP photo

Pac-12 football links for Monday

Washington State's unapologetic coach, Mike Leach, might be in trouble again for the way he treats players. Before the Cougars did another faceplant on the football field Saturday - losing 44-36 to UCLA - this Seattle Times story hit the Palouse like a bombshell. And longtime Spokane Spokesman-Review columnist John Blanchette weighed in by noting, "we have now reached the 'Coach are you still beating your players' phase of the Mike Leach era. Later on Sunday, WSU's school president asked the athletic department and the Pac-12 to review the allegations by receiver Marquess Wilson, who has quit the team. Here's how the Times' story began:

Marquess Wilson, Washington State's career-leading receiver suspended
by the football program last week, issued a letter Saturday afternoon
saying he's done at the school and alleging "physical, emotional and
verbal abuse" by Mike Leach's first-year coaching staff.

In a letter texted to The Seattle Times and addressed to "Cougar
Nation," Wilson said the notion that he might return after being
suspended for WSU's game with UCLA Saturday night was a "lie" propagated
by the athletic department.

He said he has chosen to "resign" from the team and cited coaches who "belittle, intimidate and humiliate us."

The letter was sent to The Times by Richard Miranda, Wilson's
stepfather, who, like Wilson, spoke last week with WSU athletic director
Bill Moos following Wilson's suspension for leaving a demanding
conditioning practice Sunday night.

Miranda said he encouraged Wilson to send out the statement, partly
because WSU's statement that he had been suspended for "team violations"
might have left the wrong impression.

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